Forest island the nights reveal

It was the third day in Cliffpeak Village. The bear lord and his men fought the invading shadowmen forces every night and every night the number of shadows grew. On the last night Nathaniel saw a slightly larger shadowman wielding a shovel. This worried The Bear lord because he feared that these shadow creatures might be learning how to use the weapons and armor they had been stealing after every raid. The trouble was that for every dozen shadowmen that the warriors killed, it only took one shadowman to steal a helmet or sword while during the fight. Having their equipment stolen every night meant they were slowly becoming less prepared for each night.

 Nathaniel knew that it would have only been a matter of time before he and his men were too ill-equipped for fighting hordes of shadows. On the second day Nathaniel had sent his fastest scout to leave for the castle and alert the other Forest Kings to the shadow portal that had opened in their realm. Since it would be a two day ride to the castle and at least two days for reinforcements to arrive, Nathaniel knew he only had to hold back the growing horde of shadows for another four nights.

            Nathaniel and his men slept during the day while the villagers kept watch and tried to continue their daily work, then each night the villagers would try and sleep while the bear lord’s forces fought the enemy. No one slept well.

            Sir Richard the Bear lords knight sat up in bed with his hands covering his face. “What is the trouble Richard?” asked the bear lord. “We won’t last like this, we have no idea what is on the other side of that portal. We don’t have magic to close portals and none of us have ever seen a real portal to another world before” Richard whispered, clearly demoralized. “If the situation grows so dire then I will travel through the portal myself and close it by force” Nathaniel said with a determined tone. Richard nodded “I would join you through that portal, Sire. Your men would never let you go alone” Richard said. He laid back down and tried to sleep before the night came.

            Night crept over the town, cool air and light rain joined the darkness setting up a night that would usually be considered a sleepy lazy night, but considering the constant threat of shadowmen, the rain and darkness made everyone more uneasy.

            Nathaniel drew his bow and rode toward the area outside of town where the portal had opened for the last three nights. The bear lord stood with his bear and nineteen men, all ready to battle the shadows. Dark clouds parted in the sky and the bright moon added some light to the soon to be battlefield. Sparks and flickers of purple light started to appear from the air, then the portal opened in front of the group of soldiers. “Steady men” said Nathaniel as he readied his bow. The tension was thick in the air and the light rain come down like a mist, dampening skin and fabric. The first shadowman came from the portal, small and useless like the others, but this one was alone and charged forward without an hesitation or regard for the armed soldiers. The shadow was hit with an arrow from Nathaniel’s bow and the shadowman vanished. A small laugh was heard down the ranks of soldiers. It was a small release of tension but the soldiers knew they couldn’t be overconfident.

            Then a large head appeared from the portal, followed by small hunched shoulders, long arms, a torso and long legs. This was a twelve-foot tall shadowman emerging from a nine-foot tall portal. The large shadow creature had hands like dinner plates and long spindly fingers that twitched and moved in unnatural directions. This creature stood for a second then charged at the group just the same way the smaller shadowman did. This action was followed by dozens of regular sized three foot tall shadow creatures to pour from the portal.

            The extra time it took for the large shadowman to emerge from the portal gave Nathaniel and his other archers enough time to target the beast. When the tall shadow sprinted forward a volley of arrows were already on their way to meet him head on.

            The large shadow creature reached out its large hands and grabbed several arrows out of the air. Two arrows struck the creature in the chest and one arrow struck the head. The giant shadow fell forward on the arrows and melted in the ground, but the arrows remained. The dozen arrows that had been fired were now black and covered in ooze.

            The knights charged forward with their swords and shields to meet the smaller horde of enemies while the archers took aim and reloaded arrows in their bows. Each slash with a sword or strike with an arrow killed the small shadowmen. The fight continued on like it did the night before, with large number swarming the area and the Bear lord’s forces holding them back.

            Then during the fight the black ooze arrows sprung up from the ground and each arrow transformed into a normal sized shadowman. Nathaniel wondered if everything the shadow creatures stole was just used as food to make more shadows. The extra shadowmen caused the tide of the battle to shift and the Bear lord forces had to fall back several feet so as to not be swarmed on every side. Doing their best to keep the enemy in front of them, the soldiers of the forest fought with all of their might. Nathaniel was unleashing arrows, which would destroy a shadow in one hit, but worried that each arrow he fired could be used later to make another shadow creature. Then a shout was heard. Nathaniel and his knights ran toward the soldier crying out and found it was one of the archers was being overwhelmed by shadows. He was knocked to the ground and his entire bundle of arrows was stolen. The thief responsible was already halfway to the portal and surrounded by other shadows so Nathaniel couldn’t get a clear hit. The downed archer was dragged to safety and soon after the shadowmen began to withdraw.

            The third night had passed and everyone was uninjured but worried by what they saw during the battle. Nathaniel surely wasn’t the only one thinking what an entire quiver of arrows could do for these shadow creatures. If a dozen arrows spawned enough shadows to push back the Bear lord’s forces then a quiver of arrows could make the fourth night an even more difficult fight.

 Nathaniel knew he had to last till the sixth night alone before reinforcements arrived , but worried if he and his soldiers would last that long.

Memories of a Stranger - Yuri

Henry sat in the “Good Times bar”, smoke filled the room and he clutched his glass of scotch. It was a pretty quiet night at the bar. On weekends it got crowded and rowdy, but on weeknights, it was only the sad old bastards that lingered. Blues and rock style music played in the background. The music mixed with the whispered conversations from the patrons at the tables toward the back, all of this mixed together and just sounded like noise.

Henry was thirty, hardly an old bastard, well hardly old. He came to this bar every night for two reasons, his love of scotch whiskey and the information and gossip he would hear around the bar. People were always so loose with their secrets, especially on slow nights when it seems like no one is listening. Henry was an freelance investigative journalist. He would risk his neck for the top stories and sell them to the highest bidder. He made a good living off of this and found it was better than sitting at a desk all day.

Henry wore an old trench coat and a matching fedora, he had shaggy brown hair and brown eyes. He always looked like he needed a shower and a shave, though he did bathe regularly and shaved occasionally…and never flossed.

On this particular night, Henry heard two old men talking. ‘old’ is so relative. So instead of using it to describe an actual number like 70, he used the term to describe appearance. For instance, Henry wasn’t old, but he seemed old. So he often referred to himself as an old bastard. So Henry was watching these two old guys and listening in on their conversation. At first it sounded like they were talking about catching fish. These men looked like they could be fishermen. Not ‘Sunday morning fishing with your son’ kind of fishermen, the real kind. The kind that go out into the ocean and catch all the fish in the ocean so the humans on land can gorge themselves on more types of food. So anyway, back to the fish. These sly old geezers who were probably not any older than sixty, talked about fish and for an hour it sounded like they were just talking about fish. But then Henry heard something interesting. The term fish used in the wrong context or in the wrong way. Henry was pretty drunk by this point but as the conversation went on, it sounded like the word ‘fish’ was code for something else and when someone says. “The fish drop is tonight” it starts to sound like someone is talking about drugs.

Henry began scribbling in his note pad that he keeps in his coat. he wanted to make sure he didn’t forget any of the details. Henry wrote as the men talked. “The fish will be at the warehouse. Someone needs to come and get it” Said one of the men. Henry scribbled furiously. The weather that night was in the fifties and it was sprinkling rain. Cool weather, but not cold enough to keep fish fresh in some warehouse. “Wouldn’t they refer to the fish as ‘them’ not ‘it’?” Henry thought. He was pretty drunk though and wondered if he was just getting suspicious for no reason.

Then something happened that no one would ever expect to happen in a million years. A girl walked into the “Good Times” bar. The door opened and shut and the customers casually turned their heads to see who it was, as they did every time someone entered. This time though, the customer’s eyes were fixed on the newcomer. “Hey how can I help y-“ The bartender started to say then saw the girl standing at the bar. “-You?”  He finished his sentence and smiled. The girl looked to be about 25 was 5’6, thin but with subtle sexy curves. She wore a short-sleeved dress shirt un-tucked, black slacks and black dress shoes. Her hair was short and styled and dyed purple. Any skin showing showed lean toned muscle. She walked in with confidence and a sense of purpose. “Scotch neat” The girl said flatly. The bartender smiled and fixed her drink. Henry looked at the girl, he was the only one at the bar who hadn’t been staring at her like an idiot this whole time. He only looked because she ordered the same thing he had been drinking. He looked and she looked back. He smiled and held up his glass to show he had the same drink. Then he went back to drinking.

Henry was trying to listen to these ‘fishermen’ talk, but they stopped because they were too busy staring at the attractive young girl in the bar. “Old perverts” Henry grumbled. He wrote down most of the information he needed already, but could have used a few more details. “Whatcha working on?” asked the girl as she said down next to Henry. “Just some notes. So I see you like scotch” Henry said, changing the subject. The girl brushed a bit of purple hair out of her eyes and smiled “Yeah, its what my dad drank and he was tough as nails. So when I was a teenager I tried it and now I’m just used to it. Its like comfort food” The girl replied. Henry laughed. It was one of those laughs that came out so unexpectedly, like it forced its way out. “Heheh, scotch sure is comfort food for me too” he said. “My names Yuri” the girl said as she reached out her hand for a shake. Henry wiped his hands on his pants to get rid of any booze or sweat then shook her hand. “Names Henry. Yuri, that’s a strange name. No offense though” Henry said

Yuri chuckled “My father was Japanese. But I grew up in America. We settled in this city when I was a kid” Yuri explained. “Poor kid, having to grow up here” Henry replied without thinking. “I mean, Im sure you lived in a fine part of…” Henry added but Yuri stopped him. “Its fine. Don’t worry about it.” She said with a smile.

            Meanwhile one of the bar patrons didn’t like how chummy Henry was getting with the new girl. He was mad because this hot young girl came into the bar and sat right down next to the biggest bum in the whole bar. “Hey, Buddy. Yer bothering the lady” Said a muscular man that looked to be in his late thirties. “I was sitting here first. She sat next to me. Maybe she is the one bothering me! I don’t see you defending my honor. Am I not pretty enough?” Henry told the guy. Yuri chuckled. Henry hadn’t even turned around in his chair to say this to the man’s face. The muscular man grabbed onto the back of Henry’s coat and tried to pull him off his barstool. Before he could though, Yuri had jumped out of her seat and slammed a fist down onto the bully’s wrist, breaking his wrist. She then moved in front of him and gave him a right and left hook to the face.

The muscular man only had a chance to grab Henries coat before he was dispatched. He laid on the ground with a broken wrist and two black eyes.

Yuri sat back down and sipped her drink. Henry was smiling ear to ear. “Your quick, I should hire you to be my bodyguard” He said. “Well I could use the money and no one seems to like you around here” Yuri replied. Henry meant it as a joke, but once he thought about it, he realized it might be a good deal. “You’re hired.” He said. Yuri gave a little cheer in Japanese. Henry smiled and then looked over at the old ‘fishermen’ by this point they had run off, Probably from all the commotion. Henry might have lost the rest of his lead, but he did gain a bodyguard. So that is almost as good. He just hoped She didn’t bring more trouble with her. Henry had as much excitement as he could take for a while.

Two Brothers

 Blades clash and the echo of it rings out in the hallway. Two opponents face off against each other, William and Alex Herrenburge, brothers now fight to the death. The two men stand out of breath, their swords still up, ready to continue fighting. The fight had been going on for hours, deadly and fierce as neither of these skilled sword fighters would back down even an inch.

It all started when the younger brother of two year, Alex, stole something most precious from his brother William, a secret treasure that William had kept with him his entire life. Seemingly ordinary to the average person but priceless to William, this prize was given to him by his father and Alex had always been jealous of it. What the item was didn’t matter, it was the principle of it. Alex had been given gifts before, but never had he received something so extravagant.

At first Alex just wanted to see it, to be close to such an expensive treasure was enough, but slowly he let the voice in his head convince him that he was the one who deserved it. William did nothing special with his life and was only rewarded because he was born first.  Alex seethed with anger and in the dead of night, broke into Williams bedroom to steal his most prized treasure.

Once this was discovered William tried to reason with Alex and even tried to be nice. When reason failed however, drastic action had to be taken. Alex acted like a brat his entire life and it was time for William to put him in his place. The two brothers drew their swords, weapons that were identical and made by the same craftsman, the swords were even presented to the brothers at the same time during a celebration. Rapidly Alex slashed through the air, fury and injustice in his mind. He was skilled enough, but lacked the discipline of his older brother. William had a hard time dodging the erratic strikes and was struck several times by a lucky glancing blows. William held up his defense however and was determined that when he finally did land a strike on Alex, it would count.

The two parried and lunged, slashed and dodged for hours. Fighting in the hall of their family’s estate. Both brothers were tired and mildly wounded and every once in a while one of them would think of giving up before shaking it from their mind altogether. The brother that won this sword fight would be the superior sibling and would have the rights to claim the wonderful prize that they fought so dearly for.

William blocked the flurry of attacks with his own sword, then he saw an opening and went for it. Quickly he lunged forward and struck his brother Alex in the throat. Alex’s eyes widened and the air fell silent. Suddenly Alex burst out crying causing their mother to run into the living room. “Are you two fighting again? I told your father not to buy those plastic swords, but no, no one listens to me. I’m only his WIFE!” She shouted, clearly upset and also talking to herself now. Alex and William were in trouble. The boys, ages 10 and 8, bickered constantly over shiny black toy car that William was given before Alex was born. After all these years it still looked fantastic, but Alex was never allowed to play with it, so the two brothers would often get into fist fights or scuffles but now that Alex went into Williams room and took it from the top of his dresser, the two went into a child like rage and began striking each other with their toy swords. Despite being toys the swords were a hard plastic and being struck in the throat wasn’t fun for an eight year old. Mother brought Father in to survey the damage, Father just glared at his boys and sent them to different rooms after confiscating their weapons.

The two brothers were both banished to their rooms and though Alex thought the fight was a tie, William knew he clearly won. He sat in his bedroom holding his precious treasure, the black toy race car, and smiled. The battle was over, but the war would continue, just as long as the treasonous Alex wasn’t watching cartoons or asleep or something.

Any battles that took place after this had similar endings all until the passage of time healed all wounds and the brothers no longer cared for the toy car. There was peace in the land for many years up until one day, William and Alex met a young girl named Cindy, who lived just down the road, but that is a tale for another time.